Vehicle

2013 Ford Explorer XLT 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)

Review

I bought our '13 Ford Explorer XLT AWD used (36k miles) (leather, panoramic sunroof, sensors, etc.) after my wife's 2008 Pathfinder was totaled by someone running a red light while she turned. Being we have a large family, tight budget, and only a two-week window of rental with our insurance, I had to move fast on getting a new (used) vehicle. So safety was #1 in my mind, given my wife had a minor concussion and my son a broken wrist from what could have been a much, much worse accident. (The Pathfinder saved them from much worse). The interior of the Ford wastes space. You literally cannot use the outboard armrests while driving as you have to lean about 15 degrees outward to do so. Why not widen the interior to make use of this space. My thought is that they do this to make it pass the side impact testing better, but my GC, and other 'safe' vehicles have normal reaches to the side doors(?), which is strange. The 2nd row middle seat is useless. Thankfully, our kids are thin and two under 10 years old, so not a huge issue, but things are tight on long trips. The third row is comfortable for adults (once you get back there). The Ford system for getting back there is not intuitive, and the kids usually crawl over the seat backs rather than activating the full mechanism. Behind third row cargo is best in class, with room to stash flat objects under the third row. The SYNC system is TERRIBLE. The infotainment in my 14 GC is flawless, bluetooth connects immediately and the USB connect iPod is seamless. In the Ford, you have to push hard on the screen (a distraction when driving), when Bluetoothed to the phone, it will randomly start only playing the first 20 seconds of each song one day, then back to normal the next. You have to manually tell it to shuffle the attached iPod by going into the menu (the Jeep has a huge button on screen that says SHUFFLE). Awful interface for climate (you'll just use the buttons) and worse for rear climate control. Just awful. The side menus on the speedometer are nice on the left (mpg, trip, etc.) but the ones on the right are useless. They just show you what is active, but to change anything you need to look at the center screen and struggle with menus. Awful. Now reliability. We replaced the front tie rods at 66k. Now the struts are blown in the front. Again, comparing to my GC with almost the same miles and year, the suspension is like new and rides much better than the Explorer (even though it is more of an off-road vehicle. To be fair to the Ford, that may well be it. We live in pothole country with rough country roads. The Ford is more biased towards being a car, and may not be as good at wear and tear on these surfaces, where the Jeep is built for it. The Ford creaks and groans at random times, and just doesn't have good fit and finish when compared to the other cars, SUVs and Jeeps we've had. Let's take the sunroof. (Please, I have to compare it to the other vehicle we own, so bear with me...) On the Jeep GC, it knows where the sunroof is at all times. If you want to open the roof while it is currently in vent mode, you simply hit open and it first retracts the vent, then opens the roof. On the Ford, you have three separate buttons (not well labelled or intuitively placed) that you must close the vent yourself, before trying to open the roof. Overall, I call the Explorer and AVERAGE vehicle. It accelerates average, has average build quality, and will keep you safe. It could be a great car if Ford makes better use of the interior space (the vehicle is fat for what it is), updates SYNC (Ford has done this), goes to a bigger V-6 (so you don't have to jump to the turbo for some more passing/towing power), and really work on the build quality. The Ford has taken us on several long family trips, and keeps us safe through the winters and the deep snows. I'd recommend it if you can get one at a bargain price that has a clean mechanical history.

Vehicle

2013 Ford Explorer Limited 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)

Review

We leased this truck in 2013 and after our lease ended decided to finance it because we loved it BUT thank GOD we bought the EXTRA warranty to cover the 5 year finance because the SUSPENSION on this model has been HORRIBLE!!!! it has been repaired over 3 times and as I write this is sitting at Bell Ford in Colonia since Thursday! I don't know why this has not been recalled but if it wasn't for the extra coverage we would be out of pocket every time over $3,000!!!! Also, i don't know what happened to Bell Ford but NOW they have horrible customer service and don't have enough staff to assist us! Least to say once problem gets fixed we are going to a NEW dealer and changing this car! We are not about to be stuck paying for this FACTORY error once our coverage is up!

Vehicle

2013 Ford Explorer 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)

Review

In my life time I have owned at least 8 new cars. I can honestly say that this Explorer has been overall the best quality vehicle I have ever owned. I have only had to take this Explorer to the dealership for routine maintenance. It did have 1 recall notice to fix a possible O Ring leak. However, my dealer quickly repaired that with no cost to me. As a older driver, I simply find all this technology in the car amazing. I have enjoyed this car so much that I plan on buying a 2019 model. If you live in a northern state with hard winter's (as most of us do) I highly recommend the heated seats. I you happen to have leather seats they do a great job of keeping the seat warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Vehicle

2013 Ford Explorer 4dr SUV AWD (3.5L 6cyl 6A)

Review

In my life time I have owned at least 8 new cars. I can honestly say that this Explorer has been overall the best quality vehicle I have ever owned. I have only had to take this Explorer to the dealership for routine maintenance. It did have 1 recall notice to fix a possible O Ring leak. However, my dealer quickly repaired that with no cost to me. As a older driver, I simply find all this technology in the car amazing. I have enjoyed this car so much that I plan on buying a 2019 model. If you live in a northern state with hard winter's (as most of us do) I highly recommend the heated seats. I you happen to have leather seats they do a great job of keeping the seat warm in the winter and cool in the summer.